By the time Allen and the others had finished off their Chrome Beetles, Zephyr’s group had already dispatched the two they were handling. I’d been watching them out of the corner of my eye; they were fighting with practiced ease. Zephyr and Marl each took point on one, Rick kept them pinned with suppressive fire, and Eina finished them off with high-firepower magic. It was a well-oiled machine.
We’d dealt with the four that had charged us, but the sheer volume of beetles remaining was staggering. There were probably ten times the number of gathered adventurers—if things were really bad, maybe even twenty. However, Chrome Beetles were generally indifferent to anything outside their immediate territory. As long as we lured them out in small batches, we wouldn't have to face the entire swarm at once.
"They aren't hard to kill, but there's just so damn many of them! It’s a pain!"
"It’s for safety's sake. Just endure it," Lowell chided.
Zephyr grumbled just as we finished another luring operation. Lowell’s tone was firm, but I suspected even he was getting fed up. The swarm didn't seem to have thinned in the slightest. Then again, when I looked back, the field was littered with massive carcasses, so we definitely were making a dent.
"There are way more here than the report said," Rick noted.
"Ugh! What were the scouts even doing!?" Marl complained.
They were right to point out the discrepancy. Marl seemed to think the reconnaissance had been sloppy, but I wondered if a professional scout could really miscalculate a difference this massive.
"Maybe more of them are gathering as we speak?" I suggested.
"That might be it..." Lowell agreed, his expression grim.
If the swarm was growing in real-time, there would be no end to the fighting. We were already feeling the mental fatigue of the sheer numbers.
Suddenly, the high-pitched trill of a whistle pierced the air. It was the withdrawal signal. A moment later, the leader’s voice boomed across the plains.
"There are too many discrepancies with the intel! We're at risk of being overwhelmed! We’re pulling back to Berhes to regroup! Fall back, and don't provoke the bugs!"
It was a cautious move, but a smart one. When the reality on the ground doesn't match the plan, things can go south fast. I thought it was a sound decision.
Unfortunately, it may have come a second too late.
"...They're coming," Eina muttered.
She was staring toward the far east, where the sea of Chrome Beetles was writhing. I followed her gaze and saw the swarm beginning to surge toward us. We hadn't even moved toward their territory yet, but they were already on the move.
"Tch! Belay that withdrawal! We can't let that swarm get anywhere near the city! Stand your ground and fight!"
The leader roared out the change in orders as he realized the situation. He was right; if we turned tail now, the beetles would just chase us all the way to Berhes. They were faster than us, too. Fleeing blindly would just mean getting mauled from behind.
On the leader's command, the least experienced C-Rank party began sprinting toward the city, likely sent to call for reinforcements from the Guild.
"What is that!?"
"A rhinoceros beetle? No, it looks different..."
Halfa and Spira had spotted something leading the charge. At first glance, it looked like a standard rhinoceros beetle-type Chrome Beetle, but it was a full size larger and possessed a terrifying presence.
"Dammit! It’s a Hercules! C-Ranks, stay back! B-Ranks, engage!" the leader commanded.
So that was a Hercules. Like a Hercules Beetle? I wasn't sure of the exact biology, but it was clearly a much more powerful variant.
The beetles took to the air, buzzing toward us. They were still a bit too far for our mages to land effective hits, so I decided to do what I do best: a golem-led suicide charge. It wasn't a tactic I could use during the luring phase because it would aggro too many territories at once, but in this chaotic mess, that didn't matter anymore.
I quickly manifested several air golems and handed them the enchanted magic tools I had in my inventory. They used Shadow Leap to blink directly in front of the enemy lines and unleashed Shredding Storm.
"What the—!?"
"Was that one of us!?"
Startled shouts erupted from the other adventurers at the sudden localized hurricane. They didn't panic for long, though—it was obvious who the targets were.
Wind magic is incredibly effective against flying monsters. Most of them are relatively light, making them easy to knock off balance. Buffeted by the violent gusts, many of the beetles lost control and slammed into the ground. It didn't stop the whole swarm, but it definitely thinned the herd.
Once they closed the remaining distance, our mages began raining down area-of-effect spells. Shara joined in, unleashing her own Shredding Storm without the aid of a tool. It seemed Fireball wasn't the only thing she’d mastered during our training.
Despite the heavy toll our long-range attacks took, the swarm was still massive, and they were closing in fast.
"Wafu!"
"Wait!?"
Shiroru suddenly leaped to the front, his body swelling and expanding until he was a towering beast. The adventurers behind us broke into a chorus of shocked murmurs. I probably should have warned them about the Holy Beast's abilities, but I hadn't expected us to be pushed this hard.
Shiroru was clearly intending to act as a living shield. He was strong, but facing this many enemies alone would be too much for him.
I had no choice. It would probably cause another round of panic, but I had to bring out the big guns.
"I'm making a golem! Everybody, get back!"
I shouted the warning and cast Create Golem.
It’s fine, I told myself. We aren't in the desert anymore. It won't look like a horror movie monster this time.
The earth groaned and rumbled as I finished the incantation. A massive, mountain-like form rose from the ground. It didn't crumble or look like a mess of sand—it was a perfectly formed, solid haniwa-type!
"Wh-what is that!?"
"Is that a new monster!?"
Oh...
They were terrified of it after all.